Archive for » June, 2009 «

Monday, June 29th, 2009 | Author: admin

Tilted Earth Compost BinMost ecologically aware persons have learned about the benefits of compost and are having fun turning some of the organic residue of their household into nutrient for their plants. However, there are some limitations to what you can compost and many are, with good reason, careful about what they add to their compost pile. However, you might be avoiding some of the things that would work very well as compost, so here are a few of the things you had no idea you could compost.

If you have pets, you might do your compost bin a favor and feed it some of the waste your pets leave behind, such as fur, claw clippings and pet food. Be careful about composting your pets’ fecal matter though, as it’s not advisable to compost feline feces because of their high content in toxins and germs, and dog feces require special measures when composting.

Leather goods can also make for good compost bin material. If you have old leather clothing, shoes, wallets or bags that you are sure can’t be used anymore, you can try composting them. Because of the processing, it’s likely that leather will take some time to break down fully, but it really won’t take as long as you might think looking at it.

vacuum cleaner dustUnbelievable as it may sound, the dust in your vacuum bin can make for a great compost ingredient. If you think about it, the composition of dust mostly particles of dead skin, lint, and various other small pieces of organic materials, aside from a few non organic ones, for good measure. You can either get paper bags for your vacuum cleaner, which you can compost as well, or buy a vacuum cleaner which uses a bin instead of bags and just empty the bin into the compost pile.

Speaking of paper bags, paper can make for a great compost ingredient. You can use all sorts of paper in your composter, except, of course, paper that has been laminated or the kind of gift wrapping that usually comes with a thin plastic layer on top. Aside from that, you can go crazy and compost anything from cardboard boxes to old newspapers and other kinds of paper that end up building up around the house.

You can also compost cotton balls, strange as it may seem. Cotton is organic, and as such, cotton balls should have no problem breaking down in your compost pile. Just make sure to check the packaging on the cotton balls you buy, because if they are made from synthetic fibers, composting them would be useless.

As you can see, there are plenty of things you can compost that you might not have thought were up to the task. All that’s left now is for you to have fun composting.

Friday, June 19th, 2009 | Author: admin

The Spin Daddy Compost Tumbler really stands out in our collection of compost bins and composting accessories, in my opinion, because it recycles a product that would otherwise find it’s way into a landfill, into a product that will help you keep your OWN waste out of the landfills, and instead into your garden, where it can nourish your plants.

Composting has never been easier! The attractive Spin Daddy Compost Tumbler nests securely on an easy to roll base, making composting a

Spin Daddy Compost Tumblr

Spin Daddy Compost Tumblr

breeze!

Transformed from a juice-making drum into an eco-friendly composter, this compost tumbler will help you turn your food scraps into nourishing fertilizer. The Spin Daddy Compost Tumbler offers 7.35 cubic feet - or 55 gallons -  of composting space.

It’s  made of durable, recycled food-grade plastic resin. The strong, leak-tested barrel sits and rotates freely on wheels built into the stable black base. The low-profile design prevents tipping in strong winds, and the wide 16-inch twist-on lid allows you to load and unload material easily. Ventilation holes at both ends circulate air within the batch to accelerate rapid composting. The rotating drum can be removed from its base and rolled to any location for filling or dispensing - no lifting required.

This compost tumbler eliminates the need for strenuous churning. All you have to do is rotate the drum on its stand to quickly and easily mix your compost materials. Turn it about once a week to keep oxygen, nutrients, micro-organisms, and moisture evenly distributed throughout the developing batch. Within just weeks of accruing garden and kitchen waste, this compost bin will transform your scraps into valuable organic material.

Please note: Because it previously had juice in it, the recycled drum may have original markings and scuffs on the surface, which have since been tempered. It also might carry a light, sweet aroma. This compost tumbler arrives fully assembled and is backed by a one-year warranty against manufacturing defects.

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 | Author: admin

We’ve all heard the theory before: waste is bad. But living in a society based on consumerism, it’s very hard not to waste food, money and all sorts of other resources. It takes more than some lectures to stop, think and actually do something about stopping the waste. It takes something like solid fact, and the fact is that our planet is suffering as a result of our food waste, and that switching to a more organized and environmentally aware way of life can make a difference in our futures.

In what way does food waste mean bad news for the environment? You might’ve heard about how negative CO2 emissions are for the environment. Official statistics show that around 20% of all CO2 emissions are a direct result of the processing and transport of our food, which pretty much means that wasting food means that we are emitting all that CO2 for no good reason, not to mention adding to that the CO2 emissions resulting from the transport of the food we threw away to the garbage processing facilities. Add to that the emissions resulted from the decomposing process of all the food, which consist of methane, amongst other things, a gas that is about 20 times more damaging for the atmosphere than even CO2 and you realize that the extra food we buy and throw away adds a lot to the amount of greenhouse gas we emit. It’s been estimated that around 40% of all methane emissions come from landfills, an enormous percentage, all things considered, especially since methane is a gas resulted from the decomposition of organic residue, therefore food.

Statistics show that most western countries will discard, or waste between 25 and 40% of the food produce every year, with some statistics showing numbers as high as 50%. Statistics also show that reducing food waste in developed would be equivalent to reducing one fifth of the emissions resulted from means of transportation today, which is also quite a bit when you think about it. And it all starts in your home, with planning carefully what your food shopping will consist of and with making the most out of everything you buy.

Of course, when you think about food waste from a moral standpoint and consider the fact that the food we throw away is sorely missed by inhabitants of other, less developed countries, the choice to be more judicious when it comes to the way you treat your food becomes a little simpler.

It’s up to you to reduce the amount of pollutants that are being released in the atmosphere, and it can all be as easy as double checking your grocery list and getting a little more creative with your cooking.

Keep in mind that composting is a great way to reuse some of that food to keep it from going to waste, not to mention, develop soil for more!

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009 | Author: admin

The Eco-Pen is made out of corn starch plastic that is 100% biodegradable, meaning you can throw this bad boy away and it wll break down in about a year, not including the plastic refill. Now, this begs to question, is a biodegradable pen that costs $2 preferable to the old fashioned Bics that run about 9¢ a piece?

Thoughts?

The Eco Pen can be purchases at Unica Home.

Category: Uncategorized  | One Comment
Wednesday, June 03rd, 2009 | Author: admin

With the rising population, the one resource the world desperately needs is plenty of water. There is a high demand for residential water which is used for cooking, cleaning and irrigation purposes. Besides household purposes, gallons of water are required in industries. Water conservation is the need of the hour. Fortunately for humankind, rain water is one of the consistently available natural resource. Every year, there is abundant supply of rain water, which if harvested can meet many of our needs.

Water conservation can be done easily by harvesting rain water as it is an effective way of cutting down the usage of water for household purposes and overcoming the problem of water shortage. One of the techniques of rain water harvesting is by usage of rain barrels. A rain barrel is a water tank which is used to collect and store rain water, typically from rooftops through rain gutters. Rain barrels are installed to make good use of naturally available rain water for future use. This method is not only economical but also helps preserve natural resources. In places where there is acute shortage of water, rain water harvesting aids self-sufficiency. Rain water harvesting can be done on a small scale as well as a large scale. Small scale rain harvesting is normally done in households wherein the rain barrels are placed strategically around the house and can be used for watering gardens, agriculture, flushing toilets, in washing machines, washing cars, and also for drinking, especially when other water supplies are expensive, unavailable, or of poor quality.

Rain barrels come in different forms such as portable rain barrel, the rain catcher rain barrel, flat back rain barrel, wood grain rain barrel, flora rain barrel, etc. Portable rain barrels serve multiple purposes and come in varying sizes. Besides fulfilling the basic function of collecting rain water, these rain barrels can be easily pushed across and moved from one spot to another. Another most used rain barrel is the rain catcher. These two models are truly convenient and useful to be used in any household. This is very important that these barrels are engineered to screen out breeding of mosquitoes due to improper filtering systems. Therefore, along with these models, there are certain rain barrel accessories such as diverter kits, mosquito donuts and even pH meters that are available in the markets which will ensure the cleanliness pf the harvested rain water.